After a few dead battery mornings I decided to upgrade the power in my car and set in place a easy way to add radios in the future.
A frame was designed and constructed from 11 gauge ¾ inch angle iron to which three backboards were mounted. These in turn served as mounts for two radios and a lower frame to hold a 27 series AGM battery.
Under the hood an upgraded 200 amp alternator was installed - not so much for the total output but because it was capable of providing considerably more amperage with the engine at idle. Wiring from the alternator to the distribution block was upgraded with a #2 copper lead and a 200 amp fuse at the alternator to protect it from an output short.
The feed to the trunk was upgraded to #6 copper.
In the trunk an East Penn/Deka 92 Ah AGM battery was installed, to which two copper buss bars were connected allowing for an easy and safe way of connecting radio equipment or other future needs.
Each load and or feed wired to the buss bar has its own in-line fuse which prevents failure of one from affecting the others.
A Xantrex Freedom 458 1Kw inverter and 50 amp charger was selected for the inverter/charger. This unit came from a marine flea market and while 1 Kw might be considered overkill this unit has load sensing which enables it to idle at a very low amperage rate until a load is applied. It also has a nice clean output and the 50 amp regulated output will support several radios even without a battery.
The Maratrac is used for both 2 meter and VHF monitoring it is slated to be swapped out with a 128 channel Spectra in the near future.
From the trunk to the dash I was able to snake the control cables and many others thru the ductwork already in place. Once in the dash I pulled the cable above the cars radio and to the back of the control head.
The Itronix Go-Book II laptop is mounted in a Go-Book I docking station that provides a very secure locked mount charging power and two USB outputs one feeding a powered hub in the trunk for a WLAN and the other feeding a second powered hub mounted under the passenger seat connecting the GPS and OBD adapter to the laptop.
The docking station is held in place by a Gamber Johnson motion attachment short pole and passenger seat vehicle base.
More shots of the install are posted here.
http://ourhomepages.org/auto
Any questions just ask.
Wayne
A frame was designed and constructed from 11 gauge ¾ inch angle iron to which three backboards were mounted. These in turn served as mounts for two radios and a lower frame to hold a 27 series AGM battery.
Under the hood an upgraded 200 amp alternator was installed - not so much for the total output but because it was capable of providing considerably more amperage with the engine at idle. Wiring from the alternator to the distribution block was upgraded with a #2 copper lead and a 200 amp fuse at the alternator to protect it from an output short.
The feed to the trunk was upgraded to #6 copper.
In the trunk an East Penn/Deka 92 Ah AGM battery was installed, to which two copper buss bars were connected allowing for an easy and safe way of connecting radio equipment or other future needs.
Each load and or feed wired to the buss bar has its own in-line fuse which prevents failure of one from affecting the others.
A Xantrex Freedom 458 1Kw inverter and 50 amp charger was selected for the inverter/charger. This unit came from a marine flea market and while 1 Kw might be considered overkill this unit has load sensing which enables it to idle at a very low amperage rate until a load is applied. It also has a nice clean output and the 50 amp regulated output will support several radios even without a battery.
The Maratrac is used for both 2 meter and VHF monitoring it is slated to be swapped out with a 128 channel Spectra in the near future.
From the trunk to the dash I was able to snake the control cables and many others thru the ductwork already in place. Once in the dash I pulled the cable above the cars radio and to the back of the control head.
The Itronix Go-Book II laptop is mounted in a Go-Book I docking station that provides a very secure locked mount charging power and two USB outputs one feeding a powered hub in the trunk for a WLAN and the other feeding a second powered hub mounted under the passenger seat connecting the GPS and OBD adapter to the laptop.
The docking station is held in place by a Gamber Johnson motion attachment short pole and passenger seat vehicle base.
More shots of the install are posted here.
http://ourhomepages.org/auto
Any questions just ask.
Wayne